Buddhist Books

A Classic Zen text written in the 8th century by Hui Hai. He was a student of Ma-tsu and from the same line as Hui Neng, Huang Po and Rinzai (Lin-chi).

Ajahn Sumedho urges us to trust in awareness and find out for ourselves what it is to experience genuine liberation from mental anguish and suffering.

The Short Prajnaparamita Texts were composed in India between 100 BC and AD 600. They contain some of the most well known Buddhist texts such as The Perfection of Wisdom in 700 Lines, The Heart Sutra, and The Diamond Sutra.

Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, lived approximately 563-483 bce in the north of India (today Nepal).

The Gotamas were a branch of the Sakya clan. His mother, Maya, gave birth to him in Lumbini Grove. She died seven days later and his aunt, Prajapati, took over as foster mother. The family were of the warrior (khattiya) caste.

As a young man, a prince, he began to contemplate sickness, old age, and death. Are we born just to get old, to get sick, and to die? Isn’t there more to life than this? He decided to leave his comfortable surroundings and to search for the truth of existence. Turning his back on everything, he cut off his hair, exchanged his fine clothes for rags, and set out on a spiritual journey. With great determination he began his new way of life.

For six years he sat at the feet of respected gurus and practised their teachings, living as a wandering ascetic. Earnestly he followed these revered teachers but didn’t find what he was looking for. Then one day, sitting in the shade of a tree, he composed his mind, looked within, and decided not to move from that spot until he had understood what he was, what life was, and the workings of his own mind. There, within himself, he found freedom from birth, decay and death. That was his awakening, his enlightenment, his Buddhahood.

The Buddha is just this ‘one who knows’ within this very mind. It knows the Dhamma. Ajahn Chah

If you think Buddha’s a person, you’ll never know Buddha. Zen Graffiti

The tathagata appeared for the sake of sentient beings lost in wrong views and inverted thinking. Avatamsaka Sutra

Even one’s livelihood and everyday work, are applications of the form and functioning of the tathagatas wisdom. Chinul

The Buddha is also known as the Awakened One, the Tathagata, and Shakyamuni Buddha (Sage of the Sakya clan).

Tathagata

Tathagata: Lit. thus come or thus gone. Buddha often used the word Tathagata when speaking of himself.

Tathagata: Being at one with the nature of things without duality. Suchness of reality as it is without notion of being or non-being.

Tathagata appears in the world, fully awakened, and teaches Dharma (truth) wonderful in its beginning, middle, and end. Kevatta Sutra

Tathagata is away from all consciousness and thoughts, thus I should not seek him through appearance. Unimaginable State Sutra

Those who seek for the Tathagata should seek for the self. For “self” and “Buddha” are synonymous. Prajnaparamita.

Teachings Dhamma (Pali) Dharma (Sanskrit)

Those who see the Dharma see me. The Buddha

For the next forty-five years

The early Buddhist communities (sangha) were small groups of practising ascetics. The Buddha would teach his followers and then urge them to go and meditate in forests and caves.

The Buddha, the Awakened One—devoted himself to pointing out the way of truth, the way of liberation of mind and freedom, to all who were interested. He taught how the truth life is altered by one’s state of mind, how fear, grief, excitement, wish or hope distorts the moment. He pointed out that when there is worry, for example, the whole of life takes on a worried appearance—the walls of the room, grass, trees, everything, is affected by this state of mind. The same is true of despair, anger, greed, confusion and any emotion. The Buddha taught that life is like a mirror, and that whatever is in the mind is like an object placed before the mirror. If anger exists in the mind, anger will be seen all around one. But the anger is in one’s own mind!

In a similar way, the Buddha spoke of birth, old age, and death as being ideas in the mind—first, an idea in the mind, and then a fact ‘out there’, and taken for reality. He advised us to see ourselves as we really are, to be totally honest about the way we think, act, and speak.

Four Noble Truths

The truth of suffering (dukkha)

This is the realisation that all things are subject to change, to birth, aging and death, and that all conditions in life are unstable and unsatisfactory.

The truth of the cause of suffering

This is the realisation that suffering is a condition of the mind related to wanting life to be a certain way, and that physical discomfort and pain are not what is meant here by suffering; it is the realisation that we suffer in the mind and that the mind produces the condi­tions in life which are unstable and unsatisfactory.

The truth of the end of suffering

This is the realisation that suffering begins and ends in the mind.

The way, which is the end of suffering

This is living in a certain way, a harmless way, in the moment, skilfully and fearlessly, charac­terised by The Eightfold Path.

Dukkha translated as suffering, anguish, or unsatisfactoriness. Literally souring. Dukkha is experienced when we are unawakened. All Dukkha arises from false imagining.

In awareness the Eightfold Path and all Buddhist teachings establish themselves.

The Six Perfections

Giving without the idea of a giver, recipient, gift, or reward.

Being moral without the idea of morality, or one of good conduct, or immorality.

Being patient without the idea of patience, or one who is patient, or that which has to be endured.

Being vigorous, without the idea of vigour, or that which has to be done.

Meditating without the idea of medi­tation.

Being wise without the idea of wisdom, or one who is wise or stupid.

What is this awakened state?

If we look within ourselves, we shall begin to notice the way we react to life. We shall realise that everyone sees life accord­ing to his or her own state of mind, and we shall understand that this is why people have differing views and opinions. Truth, however, is more than views and opinions, and the way to see truth is to become aware of life as it is happening, as it is unfolding right now, and to now ideas and emotions for what they are. When we know: ‘This is an idea,’ or ‘This is emotion,’ and identify them for what they are, then we shall begin to open up to our own deep wisdom and natural compassion

The Buddha called this state tathata, suchness, things as they really are, and called himself the tathagata. This reality or Awakened state has many names in Buddhism — Suchness, Buddha, Buddha Nature The Unborn, True Nature, true self.

It can be described as birthless, deathless, timeless, true happiness. However, it is devoid of characteristics, and is best known by it’s functions which are awakened intuitive awareness (prajna) and compassion (karuna).

Buddhism is about realising, and then living from, this awakened state. But we shouldn’t think of this as something to get or gain. Shakyamuni Buddha said he attained absolutelynothing from full and perfect awakening.

In Zen there is a saying that reflects this. They say:

That which comes in though the front door is not the family treasure.

In other words, what we find, learn, or gain is not Awakening.

In an awakened life, existence is free from dukkha, free from impermanence and free from both self and not-self. The Buddha.

Nirvana only exists in the minds of those suffering in samsara. Zen Graffiti

The Middle Way

The bright mind is balanced and the defiled mind is imbalanced. When defilements (kilesa) come in, they take over. Then things are no longer in balance. And when the mind is out of balance, sometimes it goes off to the left, sometimes to the right, sometimes it goes up, sometimes down, or there is too much, or too little. This is what happens with defilements—the natural, pure balance of the mind is interfered with. This shows the importance of getting away from the influence of the defilements in order to live in the balanced Middle Way.

So I’m feeling spiritually lost and I’m hoping you can help. I feel like I need guidance but when I turned to Christianity (the religion I was brought up with) and read the bible for the first time, I didn’t believe it. It didn’t make sense to me. I’ve researched some other religions to see if there is one that fits my beliefs but with no real luck and now I’m turning to Buddhism. From what I know of it so far, it fits my beliefs and could help guide me in being a good person. And this post has helped but not given me all the information I need. But whereas with Christianity I read the bible to find out more, there is no holy book for Buddhism, so I was hoping you could lead me to a book where I could find an overview of the whole of Buddhism, that explains the eightfold path and the four noble truths and everything and also explains to me how Buddhists practice, while being able to be understood by someone who knows little about Buddhism. I feel Buddhism could be the path for me and wish to explore it further.